In 2009, Lee O'Rourke was promoted to district vice president in charge of Macy's newly created North Florida district. This district consisted of 11 stores located in the greater Orlando area and in the east coast towns of Daytona, Melbourne, Merritt Island, and Vero Beach. The performance of these stores had lagged in recent years, and O'Rourke was charged with building a cross-functional district team to support these stores and with improving their overall performance. O'Rourke and her team were able to drive almost immediate improvement in the district's sales growth and profitability and in other key areas such as customer service scores. How can O'Rourke ensure that these stores continue to perform well going forward?

Wiikano Orchards, a family-owned business, faces declining demand in a commodity industry. The president is considering rebranding Wiikano's apple juice, increasing its prices and promotions. If this proposal succeeds, wholesalers and retailers would be more likely to distribute and pay more for Wiikano's juice. The Wiikano case focuses on challenges related to product differentiation and can be used to discuss branding, pricing, and marketing communications. It also addresses issues that small- and medium-sized business owners face, by employing a product and distribution system that is easy to understand. The case is recommended for upper-level undergraduate students or first-year MBA students. It may also be used as an exam case.